U.S. Secretary of Commerce Hopkins finally made the trip on December 28, 4636 A.D., aboard a light cruiser of the U.S. Navy and bound for England. A week later, on January 4, 4637, Hopkins arrived at the English military port of Portsmouth. Because he was now a special envoy to the President of the United States, British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden personally greeted him at the military port.

"Mr. Hopkins, welcome to England. Your Excellency the Prime Minister is already waiting for you. Anthony Aiden smiled. Although, many Britons do not look down on the United States. However, the senior officials of Britain cannot have such an idea. Everyone can feel that the pace of war is approaching. If war breaks out, they probably expect to receive a lot of support from the United States, just like the previous war, and this will be an important guarantee for their victory in future wars. Therefore, it is now impossible to offend the Americans under any circumstances.

"Your Excellency, you are so gracious." Hopkins said with a smile.

Hopkins then rushed to London in a car prepared by the British. On the way to London, he also kept thinking about how to convince the British. After all, the British were quite hostile to Soviet Russia, as can be seen from the fact that they did not hesitate to sacrifice the interests of many small European countries to lead the troubles to Soviet Russia.

That afternoon, Hopkins arrived in London and was placed in a hotel to rest. The U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom also arrived at the hotel to report to Hopkins.

In the evening, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain invited Hopkins to dinner at the Prime Minister's Office. If it weren't for Hopkins' secret visit this time, the British might have wanted to hold a grand welcome banquet to demonstrate the close relationship between Britain and the United States, to deter other countries, especially Germany, and to let the Germans know that it would be absolutely stupid to attack Britain and France if they wanted to attack Britain and France, and that it would be better to honestly attack Soviet Russia in the east.

The principal ministers of the British Cabinet were present at the dinner. However, after dinner, everyone took their leave, except for Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, the current international situation has become more and more tense. War, which could break out at any time, would be a great catastrophe for the Western democratic world. If we are to survive this catastrophe, we need to work together. Hopkins said.

"Yes, Your Excellency, we have been doing our best to avoid the outbreak of war, or to delay it as much as possible. After all, if war breaks out now, we are not ready at all. This is very bad for us. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain said. Indeed, now even he, the most reluctant to fight, is clearly aware that war is inevitable.

Hopkins sneered in his heart, these British people are so shameless, they do not hesitate to sacrifice those small countries in order to avoid the outbreak of war, in order to delay the outbreak of war. Of course, all big countries have never taken the interests of small countries seriously.

"Your Excellency, there is ample evidence that this time the Germans and the Chinese have come together. They will join forces to wage war against the Western democratic world. Therefore, the United States believes that if we want to defeat the future war, we must unite all those who can be united, for example, the United States and Britain and France will form a hurry, and then join the Soviet Union. In this way, we will have a better chance of winning. Hopkins made it clear that he wasn't going to go around in circles.

"What? Cooperation with Soviet Russia? How is this possible? Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and Anthony Aiden both looked at Hopkins in amazement.

"Your Excellency, we agree with the alliance of Britain, France and the United States. However, there is no need to bring Soviet Russia into the mix. Let's not forget that Soviet Russia is the enemy of the entire capitalist world. Neville Chamberlain said.

"However, Soviet Russia is a rare and powerful force. The industrial strength of Soviet Russia has become the first in Europe. Once they carry out the maximum mobilization, they will arm tens of millions of troops into the war, which is a huge threat to both the Chinese Empire and Germany. Our enemies are too strong, so we must unite as many forces as possible. Hopkins explained.

"Your Excellency, perhaps you have a point. However, we still do not think that Soviet Russia will be our ally. Even in the face of the threat of the Chinese Empire and Germany, they will choose to ally with us. However, after defeating a strong enemy, they will become our strong enemy in turn. It is absolutely impossible for us to allow Soviet Russia to become another scourge of the capitalist world. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain said firmly.

In fact, after the British knew that war was inevitable, they had already united with France and made relevant arrangements. One of the strategies was to urge Germany to attack Soviet Russia, so that Germany and Soviet Russia would fight and lose both. At that time, Britain and France will take the opportunity to attack Germany, take this opportunity to defeat Germany, and even defeat Soviet Russia in one fell swoop, solving the problem once and for all.

Of course, this plan was nothing more than their wishful thinking that the Germans would fulfill their promise to launch an attack on Soviet Russia. If the Germans tore up their promises and did not attack like Soviet Russia, but turned their guns and attacked them directly, then Britain and France would have to be blind.

Hopkins is also well aware that the British are now daydreaming. However, it was undoubtedly very difficult to convince the British. Their deep-seated hostility towards Soviet Russia could never be changed in a short period of time.

Of course, the Americans would approve of cooperating with Soviet Russia, which was too far away from the United States. Even if Soviet Russia really can't get rid of it in the end, it will not be able to threaten the United States. Britain and France are different, as European countries, they are constantly threatened by Soviet Russia. Who would dare to guarantee that after Soviet Russia became strong with the help of war, it would not directly pose a threat to them? Will Soviet Russia let go of the opportunity to **** the whole of Europe? It's impossible to think about it.

Therefore, because of their respective interests, it is difficult for the British and Americans to come together on this issue.

"Your Excellency, the United States, as the most powerful country in the Western democratic world, should provide us with more support once a war breaks out to ensure that we win the war. Therefore, the British government hopes that once war breaks out, the United States should do everything in its power to support us. British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden said.

"Of course, the United States does not want the war to develop out of control. If war broke out, the United States would do its best to support Britain. However, we hope that Britain will think carefully about adding Soviet Russia to our alliance. Hopkins said.

"Alright, Your Excellency the Special Envoy, we'll think about it." Neville Chamberlain replied.

However, Hopkins could sense that Neville Chamberlain was clearly perfunctory. For this, he had to sigh that the British thought that everything was under their control. In fact, they are simply short-sighted. When the time comes, the British will definitely suffer a big loss.

They then began to discuss what kind of support the United States should provide to Britain in the event of war. Of course, the British wished that the United States would be able to send troops directly to fight. But the Americans didn't want to get involved in the war at an early stage. At that time, it was the time when the enemy's army was in its prime, and joining the war would only cost them heavy losses. Therefore, Hopkins said that the encouragement prevails in the United States, and it will be very difficult to fight abroad. Therefore, the United States provided weapons and war support to Britain at most.

Of course, none of this is free. The British had to pay for it. Americans don't do a loss-making business.

The British also knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch, and it was completely impossible for the Americans to support them for free. The Americans promised to sell them weapons and equipment and war materials after the outbreak of war, and this has made them very satisfied.

This meeting with the British was very disappointing to Hopkins. The British just want to take advantage of everyone. At the same time, he also made his own little calculations. If it goes on like that, it will definitely not work. This will make future wars more uncertain, and it will be more difficult for them to win the war.

However, the British must choose this way, and Hopkins has no choice.

Hopkins didn't stay in the UK for long. On 6 January, he left England and boarded a merchant ship bound for France.

It's just that the French and the British obviously have the same thoughts. French Prime Minister and Minister of War Edouard Daladier also did not want to accept the Russians, but hoped to encourage the Germans to attack Soviet Russia, and France was fortunate to benefit from it.

In response to the question, what would France do if Germany did not attack Soviet Russia, but attacked France instead? Edward Daladier was confident that France's millions of elite troops and the strong Maginot Line would be able to withstand the German* attack. When the time comes, they will let the Germans know how powerful France is and let their heads bleed.

The French were so confident that Hopkins was speechless. In the end, they had to reach an agreement with the French that once war broke out, the United States could sell weapons and equipment and war materials to France at a preferential price. Elsewhere, little progress has been made. (To be continued.) )